Housebuilding picking up in UK

Housebuilding in the UK is improving, according to figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) with chartered surveyors for the first time in six years in every part of the country reporting rises in privately-funded housing projects between July and September compared to the previous three months.

Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief Economist, said: “While it’s certainly good news that construction and especially housebuilding is finally on the rise right across the UK, we are certainly not out of the woods yet. Critically, we’re still way behind in terms of building enough homes to meet the nation’s growing housing need and overall construction projects are at a historical low. In the face of this challenge, it is a particularly concerning that we are already receiving reports of some skill shortages as well as capacity constraints for some building materials such as bricks.”

Housing in Wales
The Welsh Government will introduce the Housing (Wales) Bill to the Welsh Assembly on19 November as it aims to tackle a variety of issues including homelessness, empty homes, housing supply and standards in the private rented sector.

Portal develops estate agent business
Specialist new homes portal Whathouse.co.uk will expand into estate agency sales and lettings in 2014 . Managing director Daniel Hill said: “We have been looking at moving into this market for some time and have carried out a year of secondhand and lettings research on our development portal whatnewhomes.com. We have been able to track, through heat maps, the visitor journey, how they best respond and what they are looking for as well as produce leads for agents.”

Converted church – offers over £319,995
On with Residence Estate Agents, this 5 bedroom detached house – The Old Church, Stonehouse ML9 – offers, according to the particulars, both “contemporary and gothic styled apartments” over three floors. Original church features include exposed oak vaulted beams, stone corbles and the original quarry tiling. The seller will consider part exchange.